Anderson@Large

Green is the New Black

President Barack Obama will celebrate Earth Day in Newton, Iowa, where he will meet with workers at Trinity Structural Towers, a former Maytag factory that is now a wind energy tower manufacturing facility.

Obama will tout his “New Energy for America” plan to help create five million new green jobs over the next ten years.

Obama’s Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Van Jones, recently spoke to a group of Knight Center for Specialized Journalism fellows. Van said Obama’s energy policy is the “cornerstone of the economic recovery”:

We will power our way to economic recovery at the same time we address global warming.

He added:

We have a Saudi Arabia of wind energy, solar energy, smart biofuels and geothermal energy. We have a Saudi Arabia of renewable energy in this country.

The Green Jobs Act of 2007 provides for job training in five green industries, including weatherization and solar panel installation.

I asked Van to define “green jobs.” He responded that the “definition of green jobs is still under development”:

In the next 18 to 30 months, we will have a better definition.

The bottom line: A green-collar job is a “blue-collar job that has been updated and upskilled to better respect the environment.”

During an appearance on CNN’s “Larry King Live” last night, Van underscored the link between clean energy and economic growth:

We have the biggest investment in clean energy in the history of the world…We have to move fast. We have the technology now…We have to unleash that technology.

Everything that’s good for the environment is a job…We have to do right for our children economically by creating more jobs.

Van said Obama plans to do right by all Americans:

There’s a commitment that the recovery work for everybody and for all sectors of the country.

He observed that the U.S. doesn't have enough trained workers. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Employment Training Administration received $500 million for green-collar job training. Most of the training will be provided by community colleges.

For more info, go here.

U.S. Sends Its Regrets

The Durban Review Conference opens today in Geneva, Switzerland. The conference will assess progress in eliminating racism, xenophobia and intolerance.

The U.S. is boycotting the racism conference on the grounds the draft document “reaffirms the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action,” which singled out Israel for its treatment of Palestinians.

President Barack Obama said:

Unfortunately, even though I think other countries made great efforts to accommodate some of our concerns and assured us that this conference would be more constructive, our participation would have involved putting our imprimatur on something that we just don’t believe.

The concerns date back to the 2001 World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa. Then as now, Israel and the United States objected to the outcome document.

The American Jewish Congress applauds the decision. AJC Executive Director David A. Harris said:

We applaud the principled stance of the United States. The Obama Administration correctly concluded that the reaffirmation of the 2001 Durban Declaration in the final declaration effectively singles out Israel for condemnation. That is an outrage.

Meanwhile, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Barbara Lee and members of the CBC Taskforce on Foreign Relations issued their own statement:

We are deeply dismayed by the decision to boycott the Durban Review Conference, even after the final Outcome Statement was rewritten to accommodate the administration’s concerns.

This decision is inconsistent with the administration’s policy of engaging with those we agree with and those we disagree with, expressed by President Obama during the G20 and on other recent occasions.

The CBC concluded:

By boycotting Durban, the U.S. is making it more difficult for it to play a leadership role on UN Human Rights Council as it states it plans to do. This is a missed opportunity, plain and simple.

Had the United States sent a high-level delegation reflecting the richness and diversity of our country, it would have sent a powerful message to the world that we’re ready to lead by example.

The US Human Rights Network also thinks it’s a missed opportunity. USHRN Executive Director Ajamu Baraka observed:

The DRC presented a unique opportunity for the Obama administration not only to prove its commitment to ending discrimination but also a true departure from the arrogant unilateralism of its predecessor. By failing to do so the Administration has undermined its stated commitment to advancing the cause of human rights for all.

The Durban Review Conference will be webcast, but Uncle Sam regrets.

All that Jazz

April is Jazz Appreciation Month.

Go here to find a JAM event near you.

Earth Day 2009

Earth Day 2009 will kick off on Sunday with a commemoration on the National Mall in DC. This is a good time to recommit yourself to preserving a clean environment and open spaces for future generations.

To find an event near you, go here.

Stormy Weather for Black Men

A new report from the Center for American Progress shows a BMW – black man working – is becoming as rare as a successful Detroit auto CEO.

The report, “Weathering the Storm: Black Men in the Recession,” found:

The recession is taking a toll on most Americans and has resulted in job losses not seen in almost 25 years, but black men have felt its effects particularly hard.

Black men have long faced limited employment prospects and disproportionately low rates of unemployment. Even as the economy thrived and the participation of low-skilled women in the labor force increased over the last two decades, many black men remained largely disconnected from the labor market. While the unemployment rate among black men has declined dramatically over the last few decades, the level of workforce participation among African-American men has not increased and remains stagnant. The current degree of job loss among black men is particularly alarming. These losses will likely only increase as the economic crisis deepens.

The report concludes:

In good times and in bad, the African-American unemployment rate tends to be about double that of whites, and in tough economic times, it rises higher and faster. In this recession, as in previous economic downturns, the effects on the labor force are not evenly distributed among the different demographic groups. In fact, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that African Americans had a higher rate of job loss in the fourth quarter of 2008 than did whites, Hispanics, or the catch-all category “other.”

What’s more, the recession overall has hit men much harder than women—so far, four out of every five jobs lost has been held by a male worker. Black men lead the unemployment surge, with an unemployment rate of 15.4 percent. This comes as a result of a range of barriers to employment, including disproportionate employment in vulnerable industries and labor market discrimination. Over a third of young black men ages 16 to 19 in the labor market are unemployed. In fact, a recent report found that 8 percent of black men have lost their jobs since November 2007.

The full report and recommendations are available here.

Tax Day

It’s April 15. Need I say more?

A Cautionary Tale of Two Governors

In recent years, the nation has witnessed three political milestones: Deval Patrick was elected the first black governor of Massachusetts and David Paterson became the first black governor of New York.

And Barack Obama was elected the first African American President of the United States.

Patrick and Paterson go before the voters next year and both are in trouble. A recent poll shows only 34 percent of respondents think he deserves to be reelected.

Paterson’s approval rating is so low that voters want him to concede now. A Quinnipiac University poll found 60 percent of New York voters disapprove of the job Paterson. His 28 percent approval is another first – the lowest approval ever for a New York Governor.

As the New York Times reports, for black voters, the thrill is gone:

In a sign of just how far Mr. Paterson’s fortunes have fallen, the governor now faces growing doubts from a group that has been among his most loyal: black elected officials, clergy members and voters.

It is a remarkable turnaround for a man whose ascension to the governor’s office just over a year ago set off a swell of pride and joy in black communities. Mr. Paterson became New York’s first black governor and, along with Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, is one of only two in the country.

New York City Councilman Charles Barron told the Times:

There is some letdown from people who were so proud of his ascension. People have to realize that when we invest our aspirations in you, we expect more. We expect better.

While voters celebrate historic achievements, performance matters. The question becomes: what have you done for me lately?